Malediction
by fentonfan
Summary: Sometimes being the only survivor is the worst fate of all. Revised.


Revised version of chapter one. Still based off of Firefury Amahira's Anathema: http://www. fanfiction. net/ s/ 2874003/ 1/. Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman. Hope you guys like it! :D

Malediction Chapter 1

Danny Fenton's POV

I highly doubt that I could ever forget that day. The rush of heat as the massive explosion sent my numb body flying backward as I stared in horror as six pairs of tear-filled eyes turned to me. _No. This can't be happening. _Mustering up what little strength I had, I ran toward the Nasty Burger. "No!!!!!" It was too late. All of them, my family, my friends, my teacher, were in there, killed so quickly that I could only hear one quick scream from her- from Sam.

Just like that, they were all gone. _Dead. _My mom, my dad, Jazz–no matter how annoying she could be-, and my two best- and only friends- Sam and Tucker. It was like a dream, a nightmare. At least, that's how I forced myself to think it was. But I knew it would be a lie. There were dead, and there was nothing I could do about it. "This is all my fault…" I whimpered softly. If only I hadn't used my ghost powers to cheat on the Career Aptitude Test, none of this wouldn't have happened.

I spent what must have been _hours_ digging through the dirt, screaming everyone's names, trying to find _anything_ to proof that they were still alive. But as the hours slowly went by, and as I heard what sounded like ambulances, I had already given up, my head in my hands, sobbing for everything that I was worth. I must have passed out, from exhaustion or from the shards of glass from the Nasty Burger wedged in me, I don't know. All I remember is waking up inside a hospital. They ran some tests on me and I was free to go home.

I spent hours pacing around my house, after what felt like hours of police investigation, after being questioned about what happenedThat night seemed to last forever as I slid into my parent's lab, spending several hours in there, just walking among their wide arrangement of painful ghost weapons that they had invented, staring at the ghost portal that had started it all.

_**Flashback**_

"_I… I don't know you guys…" I looked at my friends, both of them staring at me, their eyes begging for me to put on the hazmat suit and go into the Fenton Ghost Portal that my parents had built. "My parents could be back here any minute. Besides… they say it doesn't work anyway."_

"_Come on, Danny." Sam pushed me forward. "A Ghost Zone? Aren't you curious? You gotta check it out." _

_I shouldn't have agreed. But right then, I had to admit, even though I was nervous, it did seem exciting to see if it _did_ work. "You know what? You're right. Who knows what kind of awesome, super-cool things exist on the other said of that Portal?"_

_**End Flashback**_

If only I hadn't agreed to that stupid plan, if I had never pressed the button that would ultimately change my life, I wouldn't have ever became a ghost, and I wouldn't have been able to cheat on the C.A.T. Unable to stand the sight anymore, I flew out of FentonWorks, tears still flowing down my cheeks. I spent the rest of that cold, dark night roaming aimlessly over the rooftops, trying so damn hard to get away from the maddening guilt that just wouldn't stop plaguing me.

The next morning wasn't any better. I didn't have anything to do after what had happened yesterday, so I just decided to go to school. I was exhausted from the lack of sleep and didn't even bother to change out of my filthy soot-smeared clothes. I didn't care about the odd looks and the quiet whispers. Obviously the explosion of the Nasty Burger made the news, so the school faculty members had decided to cancel school so that the students could talk to grief counselors. Like that would even help anyone… especially the only survivor of that accident.

On my way to my locker, I passed _her. _Valerie. I guess she could be a nice enough girl… when she wasn't trying to kill me, that is. I decided to ignore her, slipping past her to open my locker, trying not to start crying _again _when I saw the picture inside. Me, Sam, and Tucker, smiling without a care in the world. I heard her quietly come up behind me.

"Danny? You okay?" She asked softly, worry written all over her face. Gee, Val, let me think. My two best friends and my family died in a fiery explosion leaving nothing but ashes, and you wanna know how I am? I'm doing just _fine!_

"No." I manage to get out, my throat tight with grief.

We stand there in silence for a minute before she reaches over and gives me a tight hug, full of concern, for the "ghost-boy" she was always trying to kill. "I know it's got to be hard Danny. If there's anything I can do, you just have to ask, okay?"

A thought suddenly occurs to me as I stood there in her arms. I couldn't go on like this forever; Sam and Tucker had been the only people who knew that I was Danny Phantom, and with out them, I was alone with my secret and my guilt. "Valerie-? Could you… um… would you meet me after school in the park?" My throat tightened even more as I stammered out the words, thinking that it was time that Valerie found out the truth. I liked her, and she seemed to like me back. I trusted her, because she was the only person I had left as of right then. "There's something… important, I need to tell you- I mean, show you… ur… well…"

She gave me a small smile, her expression full of sympathy. "I'll be there." She promised as she let me go.

"Thanks, Val." I whisper softly, wanting nothing more than just getting away from the school. I ducked into the boys' restroom, looking around quickly to make sure I was alone before I transformed into my ghostly self, worry clearly etched on my face. I wasn't quite sure how Valerie would react to learning that I was the ghost kid she had been hunting for the last few months, so I was afraid it would go wrong. I returned home after locating the park where I would reveal to Valerie who my other half was. I found myself staring long and heard in the mirror, trying to at least make myself look somewhat normal.

When I returned to the park to wait for Valerie, I was presentable, wearing a clean shirt and a pair of jeans, my midnight black hair brushed into its usual mop. I still felt miserable, but at least I looked clean. I didn't have to wait that long before she came into view, finding me sitting limply, back against one of the fountains.

"Sorry if you were waiting. What did you want to tell-" She apologized as she joined me.

I look over at here and suddenly feel more worried than I had ever since I first asked her to meet me here. _I… I can't tell her that I'm Danny Phantom… she'll hate me… what am I supposed to do? _I shallow hard and force myself to look at her. I walk over to her and look down. "Look Valerie… before I tell you this… you gotta promise me you'll let me finish. Please, don't freak out on me, please…" I must have looked so pathetic right then… but I couldn't help it.

She grabs my shoulders and forces me to sit down on one of the park benches. "Danny, calm down! Relax OK? I promise that whatever happens I _won't _freak out." She reached over, her small arms enclosing me in a tight hug. "We're friends, right?"

I nodded mutely, shaking violently. _This is it… she'll either hate me… or accept me for who I am… _I took a deep breath and looked into her eyes and steeped back. _Here goes everything… _"Okay. Y'know how my parents are… were-" I chocked one the correction. My parents we gone, dead, and they weren't coming back.

"Danny… I'm sorry." She was quick to lean in and give me a comforting hug. "It's okay to cry."

I shove away from her and she cringes, pulling away as if I slapped her. "You don't understand!" I scream, forcing myself not to cry. "It was my fault! I couldn't-" I pause, looking at her. How _could _she even begin to understand what I was going through? "They… they… they…" I couldn't do it. I stare at her for one final second before I turn around and run, tears sliding down my cheeks. I hear her shout my name but I don't respond. What was the point?

I finally find the place I'm looking for, that all too haunting place right behind the Nasty Burger. I fall in front of the grave, six pairs of stone cold eyes glaring down at me. "I… I'm s-so sorry you g-guys…" I can't help but sob now, burying my face into my hands. _This is all my fault… if I had just tried harder… if I hadn't stolen the answers… none of this would've happened. Mom, Dad, Jazz, Sam, Tucker… even Mr. Lancer would still be here. They're all dead cuz of my own stupidity._

I look up again, staring at nothing, "What… what am I supposed to do now?" The only thought that entered my mind right then was nothing. The five people that I cared the most about, the one teacher everyone despised the most… they were all dead. Because of _me._ A murderer.

"DANNY!!!!"

I turn around, my eyes narrowing into slits when Valerie stops behind me, panting, hands on her knees. "Y-you had me worried sick!" Her eyes widen when she realizes where I am and pauses. "Oh…" She knees down next to me and hugs me tightly. "I… I'm sorry Danny…"

I ignore her and look up at the grave in front of me. Val probably wouldn't let me go until I told her what I wanted to tell her, which meant that if I _did_ tell her about who I really was… My family and teacher would be, in a way, watching. _Perfect… _

She pulls away, her eyes locking onto mine. "Alright Danny… what did you wanna talk to me about?"

I cringe and look down. "Um… well…you know how my parents hunted ghosts right?" She nods and I force myself to continue. "You've seen the portal they built, but it… it didn't quite work at first. There was an accident-"

"An accident? What accident?" She sounded surprised, and, well… I couldn't blame her. I was just as confused, wondering how I was gonna explain my transformation into a half ghost. Sam and Tuck had been there when it happened, and I wasn't ready to tell anyone else… until now it seemed.

"They gave up on it. But Sam-" Sam… While I had never actually admitted it, I had just a tiny crush on her. But now… there was no way she would ever find out about it. "-she and Tucker talked me into taking a look inside it, to see if maybe we could make it work. So I put on one of the hazmat suits… safety first, and went in… I accidentally hit a button. I don't really remember what exactly happened."

Valerie just stood there, looking at me, taking a step forward, as if she wanted to comfort me. I stepped backwards, biting my lip. And it _was_ true; I barely remembered anything between going into the portal and waking up to find myself a half ghost. I did however recall being in deep excruciating pain, lights blinding me, coldness seeping into every part of my body. And just like this time, I was scared half to deaf about what the result would be. Would she hate me? Would she accept me for who I was? "There was a bright light, and it hurt… I thought I was gonna die. I thought I had at first… Oh please, Valerie, don't hate me for this, please-"

This was it. I took one last look at her, trying to see if I could find any clues as to how she would react. Fear already settling in my stomach, baby blue eyes turning glowing green I forced myself to say my battle cry, for the last time maybe. "I'm going ghost!"

Had this been under _completely_ different circumstances, I would have found Val's face to by hilarious. Mouth hung wide open; grey-green eyes the sizes of plates as I changed into Danny Phantom. At first, she just looked shock to find out that her best friend was the ghost that she was always trying to hunt down. That was followed by confusion and fear. She suddenly lunged at me, already on her jet suit, her weapons pointed straight at me, the look in her eyes murderous. "It was **your** fault! YOU did this!"

I jumped backwards, starting to panic. How could I have not seen that she wouldv'e reacted this way? It should've been obvious! "Valerie-"

"You LIED to me, ghost! You ruined my life, you lied to me, you USED me!" She shrieked, shooting at me while I dodged them, tears burning my vision.

"Valerie you promised-!" I yelped uselessly. How could she do this to me! I thought she was my friend! _She was Danny FENTON'S friend you idiot. She hated Danny PHANTOM! _Some part of me knew that, but the other half didn't care! I quickly turned around struggling to put as much difference between us as I could. She gave chase, screaming at me, shooting me. The blasts… _those_ were easily to evade- she was so rattled by what I had told her that her aim was worse than it normally was, but the accusations hit every time. I forced myself to go faster, trying to think of what I could do now. There was no way I could stay in Amity Park; she wouldn't rest until I was dead.

Valerie was starting to gain on me, her shots becoming more accurate, but I didn't to anything about it. I just went faster, trying to lose her before she caught up to me. Realizing something, I quickly teleported to FentonWorks- kinda pathetic that I couldn't even call that place home anymore, huh? I threw myself onto my bed, sobbing softly, contemplating my options.

I slumped when I realized that there was only one place I could go. I didn't _want_ to go there… I'd do anything to _not_ go there but there was no one else. Besides, was he _not_ the only one who could understand what I was going through? Was he not the one person who could help me with my powers? It wasn't like there was anything else the cheesehead could do… he couldn't kill my dad; he couldn't try to win over my mom. Heart slamming in my chest, I quickly packed my things before I went into the kitchen and dialed _his_ phone number.

It felt like hours before the person on the other land picked up the phone, sound extremely annoyed with the person who was calling him. "Who do you think you are, calling me at this hour-"

"Vlad." I didn't even give him a chance to finish, my voice void of anything but the sorrow I felt.

"Daniel? Is that you?" His tone changed instantly, from irate to surprised. "Whatever are you calling _me_ for, my boy? And in the middle of the night, no less?"

I sighed, wanting to just hang up right now. It was a stupid idea, but I knew that there was nowhere else to go. "Look, I'll get straight to the point, Plasmius." I paused, and the next words came out mumbled, my tone pathetic. "Look… can I… stay with you." I didn't want to say those words, in fact I _hated_ saying them, but I had to do it.

I didn't hear anything for a minute and I almost hung up before he spoke again, "Stay with me? I saw the news but… you want to come _here?_ To _Wisconsin_?" How _dare_ he sound so happy with that idea? I wanted to slap him.

"Yes."

"I shall send someone to fetch you and your belongings right away." He stated, the next words coming out as truly sympathetic. "I'm sorry about what happened, Daniel. Truly, I am. Your mother will be dearly missed."

_I figured he would do this for mom._ "I'll see you later than." I hung up the phone and just sat in the deserted kitchen until dawn, wondering what the hell I was getting my self into.

I was going to move in with my arch-enemy. Life was _so_ cruel to me.


End file.
